Your Packaged Greens Could Be Contaminated

Prepackaged salads linked to stomach bug

A stomach bug called cyclospora has sickened hundreds of people across 15 states, and some state health officials have linked the outbreak to prepackaged salad mixes. The illness, caused by a parasite and marked by stomach cramps and diarrhea, has been reported in Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin.

Though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration haven’t officially declared the bagged greens as the culprit and no specific brand of salad mix has been identified, consumers are urged to wash all fresh produce, even that labeled pre-washed.